In-building tracking system for distributed antenna systems

ABSTRACT

A system and method for determining a position of a first responder in a building, where the first responder is using a radio, and using a distributed antenna system. Each antenna has a level detector to detect and measure a strength of an input signal from the radio of the first responder to produce a level signal, a time tagger to tag the detected input signal with a timing signal, and a communication module to transmit the level signal and timing signal. A sensor processor connected with a signal distribution network is configured to receive the signal level and timing signal from the signal distribution network of each of the plurality of antennas, to determine the position of the radio relative to each of the plurality of antennas according to the level signal and timing signal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisionalapplication Ser. No. 16/442,376, filed Jun. 14, 2019, and entitled“IN-BUILDING TRACKING SYSTEM FOR DISTRIBUTED ANTENNA SYSTEMS,” claimsthe benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/684,978, filed Jun.14, 2018, and entitled “IN-BUILDING TRACKING SYSTEM FOR DISTRIBUTEDANTENNA SYSTEMS,” the entire contents of each which are incorporatedherein in their entirety for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject matter described herein relates to in-building trackingsystems, and more particularly to a tracking system for a distributedantenna system.

BACKGROUND

Many buildings today include systems that enhance the wirelesscommunications within the building, particularly for first responders. Afirst responder is a person with specialized training who is among thefirst to arrive to an environment, such as a building, that is in needof assistance or is experiencing an emergency, such as an accident,natural disaster, or terrorist attack. First responders typicallyinclude paramedics, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), policeofficers, firefighters, rescuers, and other trained members oforganizations that respond to emergencies.

Conventionally, all first responders are equipped with a radio or othercommunication device that can communicate on a dedicated radio frequency(RF) communication network, or other wireless networks. These networkscan be RF repeater type systems, Distributed Antenna Systems (DASs),small cells, and other systems. The types of wireless signals that maybe enhanced using these types of systems include cellular systems, WIFIsystems, and public safety systems. Some of these systems, especiallypublic safety systems, are being deployed more frequently as fire coderequirements, or other health and safety ordinances, become morestringent.

One key requirement for the safety of a first responder when attendingto in-building emergencies is the ability to determine a location of thefirst responder within the building. Several systems exist today toperform such function, such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons, orthe like. However, not all first responders carry such beacons orlocation systems with them at all times. Therefore, a need exists toidentify the location of a first responder within a particular buildingwithout the use of special location-determination systems.

SUMMARY

A system and method are provided to determine a position in a buildingof a first responder, based on radio activity of a radio associated withthe first responder. In one aspect, a system for determining a positionof a first responder in a building, where the first responder is using aradio, includes a number of antennas, distributed geographically withinthe building. Each of the antennas includes a level detector to detectand measure a strength of an input signal from the radio of the firstresponder to produce a level signal. Each antenna further includes atime tagger to tag the detected input signal with a timing signal, and acommunication module to transmit the level signal and timing signal to asignal distribution network, which is configured to communicate thelevel signal and timing signal associated with each of the plurality ofantennas from the communication module. The system further includes asensor processor configured to receive the signal level and timingsignal from the signal distribution network of each of the plurality ofantennas, to determine the position of the radio relative to each of theplurality of antennas according to the level signal and timing signal.

In other aspects, a method of determining a position of a firstresponder in a building, where the first responder is using a radio, ispresented. The building includes a distributed antenna system, asdescribed herein. The method includes the steps of detecting, by one ormore antennas of a plurality of antennas of the distributed antennasystem, in an input signal from the radio, and measuring, by a leveldetector associated with each of the one or more antennas, a strength ofan input signal of the radio of the first responder to produce a levelsignal. The method further includes tagging, by a time tagger associatedwith each of the one or more antennas, the detected input signal with atiming signal. The method further includes transmitting, by acommunication module associated with each of the one or more antennas,the level signal and timing signal to a signal distribution network ofthe distributed antenna system. The method further includes determining,by a sensor processor associated with the distributed antenna system,the position of the radio relative to each of the plurality of antennasaccording to the level signal and timing signal.

Implementations of the current subject matter can include, but are notlimited to, methods consistent with the descriptions provided herein aswell as articles that comprise a tangibly embodied machine-readablemedium operable to cause one or more machines (e.g., computers, etc.) toresult in operations implementing one or more of the described features.Similarly, computer systems are also described that may include one ormore processors and one or more memories coupled to the one or moreprocessors. A memory, which can include a non-transitorycomputer-readable or machine-readable storage medium, may include,encode, store, or the like one or more programs that cause one or moreprocessors to perform one or more of the operations described herein.Computer implemented methods consistent with one or more implementationsof the current subject matter can be implemented by one or more dataprocessors residing in a single computing system or multiple computingsystems. Such multiple computing systems can be connected and canexchange data and/or commands or other instructions or the like via oneor more connections, including but not limited to a connection over anetwork (e.g. the Internet, a wireless wide area network, a local areanetwork, a wide area network, a wired network, or the like), via adirect connection between one or more of the multiple computing systems,etc.

The details of one or more variations of the subject matter describedherein are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the descriptionbelow. Other features and advantages of the subject matter describedherein will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from theclaims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, show certain aspects of the subject matterdisclosed herein and, together with the description, help explain someof the principles associated with the disclosed implementations. In thedrawings,

FIG. 1A shows a system consistent with implementations of the currentsubject matter;

FIG. 1B shows an antenna of a distributed antenna system, consistentwith implementations of the current subject matter;

FIG. 2 shows a signal level versus a time received at a processing node,consistent with implementations of the current subject matter; and

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method of determining a position of a firstresponder in a building, where the first responder is using a radio.

When practical, similar reference numbers denote similar structures,features, or elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This document describes a system and method to determine or track aposition or location in a building of a first responder, based on radioactivity of a radio associated with the first responder. FIG. 1Aillustrates an in-building tracking system 100, using one or moredistributed antenna systems. In some implementations, the trackingsystem 100 can be used to track multiple first responders, to identifytheir location, track their movement (based on time tags), or evenidentify the first responder is relation to the building. In someimplementations, a distributed antenna system for communicating withfirst responder radios can be a Public Safety Distributed Antenna System(Public Safety DAS).

The tracking system 100 includes a signal source 102 for transmission ofsignals on a number of antennas 104 that are distributed throughout abuilding, which can be an office building, and apartment building, orthe like, and which are each configured to receive transmissions from aradio associated with a first responder. The antennas 104 can be spacedapart in the building, located on different floors or rooms of thebuilding, positioned within certain zones of the building, i.e.quadrants, or the like.

The tracking system includes a communication module 106 that is coupledwith each of the antennas 104 via a signal distribution network. Thesignal distribution network can be any common physical or even wirelessmedium. Preferably, the signal distribution network uses a physical meshnetworking technology, such as ZigBee or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), andis further coupled (physically or communicatively) a sensor processor108. The sensor processor 108 can be implemented as a hardwareprocessor, such as an integrated circuit, as a software applicationbeing executed by an operating system, as firmware, or as anycombination thereof.

Each antenna 104 includes an integrated system that can measure theinput signal strength from a first responder radio, particularly whenthe radio is used in talk mode, but in other modes as well. This signallevel measurement is then tagged with a timing signal and this timingsignal is common between all antennas in the system. The signal leveland timing information are then transmitted to the sensor processor 108.

As shown in FIG. 1B, each antenna 104 of the distributed antenna systemof the tracking system 100 includes a transmission antenna 202 forsending and receiving signals, such as to and from a radio associatedwith a first responder. Each antenna 104 further includes a leveldetector 204 to detect and measure a strength of an input signal fromthe radio of the first responder to produce a level signal, and a timetagger 206 to tag the detected input signal with a timing signal. Eachantenna 104 further includes a communication module 208 to format andtransmit both the level signal and timing signal to the signaldistribution network. These signals can be encrypted as well by thecommunication module 208, and decrypted by communication module 106.

At the processing node, the level signals can be time-aligned to showthe strength level at which a transmission has been received at aparticular antenna 104. By using location techniques such astriangulation, i.e. using relative signal strength between three of theantennas, an approximate position of a first responder can bedetermined. FIG. 2 shows the information received by the sensorprocessor 108.

Accordingly, in some implementations, a location and tracking system isprovided that comprises three or more antennas that detect signals fromradios in the uplink direction, and tags the signals with timinginformation that is common to all the antennas in the system. The inputsignals can be filtered to isolate individual operating channels withina frequency band of operation. Multiple filters can be used to enablemultiple level detections and time tag operations to be performed inparallel.

The antennas form part of a distributed antenna system and is also usedto provide wireless signal coverage in the downlink direction. Thesignal levels and time tags are sent to the sensor processor.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method 300 of determining aposition of a first responder in a building, where the first responderis using a radio, the building having a distributed antenna system. At302, one or more antennas of a plurality of antennas of the distributedantenna system, detects an input signal from the radio. At 304, a leveldetector associated with each of the one or more antennas measures astrength of an input signal of the radio of the first responder toproduce a level signal. At 306, a time tagger associated with each ofthe one or more antennas tags the detected input signal with a timingsignal. At 308, communication module associated with each of the one ormore antennas transmits the level signal and timing signal to a signaldistribution network of the distributed antenna system. At 310, a sensorprocessor associated with the distributed antenna system determines theposition of the radio relative to each of the plurality of antennasaccording to the level signal and timing signal.

In some implementations, a system as described herein can be used todefine an SOS transmission pattern. Such a pattern can be, for example,keying the radio five times within 5 seconds or other such timeinterval. In yet other implementations, the system can include aprocessing mechanism or device to analyze the detected signal levels andtiming information to detect if the SOS pattern is present, and thesystem can include a means of alerting of such an event. The signallevel detected is the total input power, commonly referred to asReceived Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI). Alternatively, the signallevel detected is not the total input power or RSSI, but a subset of thesignal power such as the pilot channel power, pilot symbol power ortraffic channel power, for example.

One or more aspects or features of the subject matter described hereincan be realized in digital electronic circuitry, integrated circuitry,specially designed application specific integrated circuits (ASICs),field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) computer hardware, firmware,software, and/or combinations thereof. These various aspects or featurescan include implementation in one or more computer programs that areexecutable and/or interpretable on a programmable system including atleast one programmable processor, which can be special or generalpurpose, coupled to receive data and instructions from, and to transmitdata and instructions to, a storage system, at least one input device,and at least one output device. The programmable system or computingsystem may include clients and servers. A client and server aregenerally remote from each other and typically interact through acommunication network. The relationship of client and server arises byvirtue of computer programs running on the respective computers andhaving a client-server relationship to each other.

These computer programs, which can also be referred to programs,software, software applications, applications, components, or code,include machine instructions for a programmable processor, and can beimplemented in a high-level procedural language, an object-orientedprogramming language, a functional programming language, a logicalprogramming language, and/or in assembly/machine language. As usedherein, the term “machine-readable medium” refers to any computerprogram product, apparatus and/or device, such as for example magneticdiscs, optical disks, memory, and Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs),used to provide machine instructions and/or data to a programmableprocessor, including a machine-readable medium that receives machineinstructions as a machine-readable signal. The term “machine-readablesignal” refers to any signal used to provide machine instructions and/ordata to a programmable processor. The machine-readable medium can storesuch machine instructions non-transitorily, such as for example as woulda non-transient solid-state memory or a magnetic hard drive or anyequivalent storage medium. The machine-readable medium can alternativelyor additionally store such machine instructions in a transient manner,such as for example as would a processor cache or other random accessmemory associated with one or more physical processor cores.

To provide for interaction with a user, one or more aspects or featuresof the subject matter described herein can be implemented on a computerhaving a display device, such as for example a cathode ray tube (CRT) ora liquid crystal display (LCD) or a light emitting diode (LED) monitorfor displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointingdevice, such as for example a mouse or a trackball, by which the usermay provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used toprovide for interaction with a user as well. For example, feedbackprovided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, such as forexample visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; andinput from the user may be received in any form, including, but notlimited to, acoustic, speech, or tactile input. Other possible inputdevices include, but are not limited to, touch screens or othertouch-sensitive devices such as single or multi-point resistive orcapacitive trackpads, voice recognition hardware and software, opticalscanners, optical pointers, digital image capture devices and associatedinterpretation software, and the like.

In the descriptions above and in the claims, phrases such as “at leastone of” or “one or more of” may occur followed by a conjunctive list ofelements or features. The term “and/or” may also occur in a list of twoor more elements or features. Unless otherwise implicitly or explicitlycontradicted by the context in which it used, such a phrase is intendedto mean any of the listed elements or features individually or any ofthe recited elements or features in combination with any of the otherrecited elements or features. For example, the phrases “at least one ofA and B;” “one or more of A and B;” and “A and/or B” are each intendedto mean “A alone, B alone, or A and B together.” A similarinterpretation is also intended for lists including three or more items.For example, the phrases “at least one of A, B, and C;” “one or more ofA, B, and C;” and “A, B, and/or C” are each intended to mean “A alone, Balone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, orA and B and C together.” Use of the term “based on,” above and in theclaims is intended to mean, “based at least in part on,” such that anunrecited feature or element is also permissible.

The subject matter described herein can be embodied in systems,apparatus, methods, and/or articles depending on the desiredconfiguration. The implementations set forth in the foregoingdescription do not represent all implementations consistent with thesubject matter described herein. Instead, they are merely some examplesconsistent with aspects related to the described subject matter.Although a few variations have been described in detail above, othermodifications or additions are possible. In particular, further featuresand/or variations can be provided in addition to those set forth herein.For example, the implementations described above can be directed tovarious combinations and subcombinations of the disclosed featuresand/or combinations and subcombinations of several further featuresdisclosed above. In addition, the logic flows depicted in theaccompanying figures and/or described herein do not necessarily requirethe particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirableresults. Other implementations may be within the scope of the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for determining a position of a first responder in a building, where the first responder is associated with a radio, the system comprising: a plurality of antennas spaced apart and distributed throughout the building, each of the plurality of antennas having a level detector to detect and measure a strength of an input signal from the radio of the first responder to produce a level signal, a time tagger to tag the detected input signal with a timing signal, and a communication module to transmit the level signal and the timing signal; a signal distribution network configured to communicate, via a communication network, the level signal and the timing signal associated with each of the plurality of antennas from the communication module; and a sensor processor configured to receive the signal level and timing signal from the signal distribution network of each of the plurality of antennas, and to time-align detected input signals by two or more of the plurality of antennas to determine the position of the radio of the first responder relative to each of the two or more of the plurality of antennas according to the level signal of each detected input signal, the sensor processor being further configured to detect a presence of a predetermined SOS signal pattern by the detected input signal according to the timing signal.
 2. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the timing signal is common between all of the plurality of antennas.
 3. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the sensor processor is further configured to generate an alert if the predetermined SOS signal in the input signal is present.
 4. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the communication network uses a physical mesh networking communication standard to communicate the level signal and the timing signal associated with each of the plurality of antennas from the communication module.
 5. A system for determining a position of a first responder in a building, where the first responder is associated with a radio, the system comprising: at least three antennas configured for being positioned within the building and physically separated from each other, each antenna having a level detector to detect and measure a strength of an input signal from the radio of the first responder to produce a level signal, a time tagger to tag the detected input signal with a timing signal, and a communication module to transmit the level signal and the timing signal; a signal distribution network configured to communicate, via a communication network, the level signal and the timing signal associated with each antenna of the at least three antennas from the communication module; and a sensor processor configured to receive the signal level and timing signal from the signal distribution network of each of the plurality of antennas, and to time-align detected input signals by at least three of the plurality of antennas to determine, by triangulation, the position of the radio relative to each of the at least three of the plurality of antennas according to the level signal of each detected input signal.
 6. The system in accordance with claim 5, wherein the timing signal is common between each of the at least three antennas.
 7. The system in accordance with claim 5, wherein the sensor processor is further configured to detect a presence of a predetermined SOS signal in the input signal.
 8. The system in accordance with claim 7, wherein the sensor processor is further configured to generate an alert if the predetermined SOS signal in the input signal is present.
 9. The system in accordance with claim 5, wherein the sensor processor is further configured to time-align detected signal levels of the at least three antennas to determine a position of the radio.
 10. The system in accordance with claim 5, wherein the communication network uses a physical mesh networking communication standard to communicate the level signal and the timing signal associated with each of the at least three antennas from the communication module.
 11. A system for determining a position of a radio in a building, where the radio is associated with a first responder, the system comprising: a plurality of antennas physically distributed about the building, each of the plurality of antennas having a level detector to detect and measure a strength of an input signal from the radio of the first responder to produce a level signal, a time tagger to tag the detected input signal with a timing signal, and a communication module to transmit the level signal and the timing signal; a signal distribution network configured to communicate the level signal and the timing signal associated with each of the plurality of antennas from the communication module; and a sensor processor configured to receive the signal level and timing signal from the signal distribution network of each of the plurality of antennas, and to time-align detected input signals by at least three of the plurality of antennas to determine, by triangulation, the position of the radio relative to each of the at least three of the plurality of antennas according to the level signal of each detected input signal.
 12. The system in accordance with claim 11, wherein the timing signal is common between each of the plurality of antennas.
 13. The system in accordance with claim 11, wherein the sensor processor is further configured to detect a presence of a predetermined SOS signal in the input signal.
 14. The system in accordance with claim 13, wherein the sensor processor is further configured to generate an alert if the predetermined SOS signal in the input signal is present.
 15. The system in accordance with claim 11, wherein the signal distribution network uses a physical mesh networking communication standard to communicate the level signal and the timing signal associated with each of the plurality of antennas from the communication module.
 16. The system in accordance with claim 15, wherein the physical mesh networking communication standard is one of a Zigbee and a Bluetooth Low Energy communication standard. 